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BIBLE STUDY
LESSON
For the week beginning Sunday April 27, 2014
____________________________________________________________
HONOR
JESUS
(Honoring
JESUS in today’s society)
John
17
After JESUS had ended HIS private teachings to HIS disciples in the
Upper Room, HE left them with the profound statement, that, “HE had overcome
the world”. HE then looked up toward Heaven and began to pray, perhaps, the
greatest prayer that has ever been prayed here on earth. It is the prayer of an
“over-comer”, and JESUS is certainly the greatest “over-comer” of
all times.
Here in John 17:1-5, JESUS
begins this prayer by praying for HIMSELF, but in doing so, HE is also
praying for us. As GOD’s greatest servant, JESUS has every right to pray
for the help HE needed in order to glorify HIS name. HIS request to FATHER GOD for
glorification includes;
·
Sustaining HIMSELF in HIS upcoming suffering,
·
Acceptance of HIS vicarious sacrifice for the world,
·
Raising HIM up again from death,
·
Restoring HIM to HIS pre-incarnate glory in Heaven.
HE had finished all of HIS other
divine work, and now HE was ready to take on HIS final assignment so that HE
could return back home to HIS FATHER in Heaven WHO sent HIM. We, as Christians,
now know and understand that, for JESUS, the only way back to glory was through
the cross, and so it must be, for those of us, who follow HIM. With open eyes,
JESUS accepted the circumstances of the cross, so that whosoever believes in
HIM, from that day forward, would not perish, but rather, would have
everlasting life with our FATHER in Heaven.
When JESUS speaks of HIS actions
bringing glory to GOD, HE is referring to the majesty and loveliness of GOD the
FATHER that has been manifested through, what HE HIMSELF has done, and will do,
in obedience to the FATHER. And after the FATHER has resurrected HIM from the
dead, that act will also reflect the true majesty of HE HIMSELF, as the
GOD-appointed SAVIOR of all of mankind. This also lets man know that, when
we obediently perform and honor GOD’s will, GOD will joyfully express HIMSELF
through us also. And so we see here in this passage, that, even we can
display the same beauty and majesty that CHRIST JESUS displayed for the FATHER
when we pray for the strength to be able to perform our appointed duties for
the LORD.
JESUS’ INTERCESSION FOR THE
APOSTLES
John 17:6-19
JESUS’ disciples obeyed the word
of GOD and HE praises them for it here in HIS prayer to the FATHER. JESUS loved
them all the more for their avid, positive response to GOD’s word. HE had
prayed for them, even before HE chose them, and now, this final prayer of
intercession clearly reveals HIS loving concern for their continued well-being
after HIS departure.
These disciples were HIS original
flock, given to HIM by GOD the FATHER, and HE had taken good care of them
during their three years together. HE had also been successful in taking them
out of the world, and putting them into a spiritual place where HE HIMSELF had
always dwelled. And while they were not perfect, they were all committed
(except Judas Iscariot) and passionately devoted to JESUS. They now, all
believed in JESUS’ oneness with the FATHER, and their faith was clearly
manifested in their obedience to HIS teachings.
This section of the prayer focuses
not only on the safety of the disciples, but also on the safety of all
believers who have chosen to come out of the world, and into the realm where
JESUS lives. Our safety, has always, and will forever, depend on the grace
of GOD, and it has never been left to up our own conduct or character. When
JESUS was with HIS disciples physically, HE always kept them safe, and they
could always depend on HIS presence in their time of need. HE guided them
then, the way the HOLY SPIRIT now guides us, and we, in addition, can still
rest assure that JESUS is, even now, still praying for us from HIS Heavenly
vantage point.
We don’t ever need to walk around
feeling sad and beaten down by the rigors of this world. We can, instead, be
filled with joy, because our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST has overcome the
world, and HE is taking everyone with HIM, in victory, who chooses to come and
share in HIS Kingdom.
JESUS’ INTERCESSION FOR FUTURE
BELIEVERS
John 17:20-26
This final segment of JESUS’
prayer is for future believers who will choose to come to HIM through the
teaching of HIS Word. In this, the “Church Age”, every converted Christian
came to be that way, either directly, or indirectly, because of the work and
witness of JESUS’ original disciples.
We see, all through this prayer,
JESUS going out to the ends of the earth. First HE started with HIMSELF. Then
HE moved on with HIS petition for HIS disciple’s safety. And now in the final
section of this great petition, we see JESUS praying for the unity of all
Christians, for all times. And just as each high priest of Israel bore the
names of the twelve tribes in GOD’s presence in the tabernacle, so now does
JESUS, in the Church Age, as the GREAT HIGH PRIEST, carry the names of
all present and future believers into the glorious presence of ALMIGHTY GOD in
Heaven.
JESUS’ request is a request for a
“Christian unity” that will transcend all the differences that can be
found among the Christian Church’s various denominations universally. And even
though we may never organize our Christian Churches in the same way, and we may
never worship GOD in the same way, JESUS prayed that Christian Unity would
forever transcend all these differences, and bring men together in fellowship
and love.
That’s the kind of unity that
JESUS is praying for here in John 17, and it is also the kind of unity that the
Apostle Paul would later write about to the Churches, in all of his “doctrinal
letters”. It is a unity, not born of bricks and mortar, but rather, it is a
unity of “personal relationships”, not unlike the one that we’ve already seen,
between the FATHER and the SON, as an example to us to follow, for all time.
All believers belong to one body
in CHRIST, and our spiritual unity is to be clearly shown through our
behavior, or the way we live. The spiritual unity of the FATHER and the SON
is to be patterned in the Church, regardless of our chosen Christian
denomination. Without union with CHRIST JESUS, the Christian Church can do
nothing in itself. “Christianity” is the only true religion, because,
“Christianity” is the only religion that is a product of GOD’s mind. All
denominations, Christian, or otherwise, are only mere products of men’s minds.
Through GOD’s “permissive will”,
HE allows us to organize Christian denominations differently, as long as we all
have CHRIST in common. However, it is not HIS “perfect will”. HIS perfect Will
is that we do away with all “man-made” religions period, and adhere perfectly
to HIS OWN written Will, which is “pure Christianity”.
The disciples’ union with CHRIST
resulted in the whole Christian community’s belief in GOD the FATHER. The glory
of the Church was born at the cross, but the unity in the Church was born
before that, and it is personified in the spirit of JESUS and HIS apostles. In
all, we see four petitions for believers, included in this magnificent prayer.
Here we see;
·
“Preservation” (John
17:11),
·
“Sanctification” (John 17:17),
·
“Unity” (John 17:11, 21-22), and
·
“Participation” (John 17:24).
After JESUS prayed this prayer, HE
would speak no more to HIS disciple, until after HIS “Passion” and
Resurrection. And so we see HIS last words to HIS faithful, were not words of
HIS despair, but rather, they were words of “HIS Glory”, and, they were words
of encouragement for HIS disciples, and for all mankind in general, for all
time.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER-
Official Website
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